The governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara said he was ready to implement of the judgement of the Supreme Court fully after carefully reviewing the certified true copy of the verdict.
Recall that the apex court had last Friday ruled among other things the reinstatement of the Martins Amaewhule-led state house of assembly, and declared as invalid the election conducted on October 5, 2024 through which, 23 chairmen and 319 councillors emerged as winners.
The court said Amaewhule and other 26 members of the assembly, who were alleged to have defected, should be allowed to resume legislative duties unhindered.
It further ordered that all members of the house of assembly are to resume normal legislative businesses without any hindrance to any members.
In addition the court ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the accountant-general of the federation to stop the monthly federal allocation to local governments in the state.
However, in a statewide broadcast yesterday, Fubara revealed that he had met with his legal team who were expected to obtain a copy of the judgement Friday, March 7, 2025.
Meanwhile, as a first step, the governor ordered the 23 local government chairmen in the state to hand over to heads of local government administration in their domains.
“I have had a meeting with my team of lawyers and they have assured me that the certified true copy of the judgements may be available to them by Friday 7th March, 2025.
“I assure you that upon the receipt of certified judgements, we shall study their ramifications and implement them without reservations to move the State forward.
“Furthermore, given the outlawing of caretaker arrangements in the local government system, I hereby direct the heads of personnel management to immediately take over the administration of the 23 local government councils pending the conduct of fresh elections by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission.
“I further direct the outgoing local government chairmen to formally hand over the levers of power to the heads of personnel management by Monday, 3rd March 2025.”
He added: “Although we disagree with the judgment we are bound to obey as a law-abiding government,” the governor said, regretting that the verdict seems to take the state back to its trying times.
“I urge everyone to remain calm and peacefully go about with their legitimate daily activities as we continue to do everything in our power to advance our responsibilities to the citizens.”
Fubara said since the inception of his administration, “we have conducted the affairs of government within the framework of our constitution, due process and the rule of law.”
He stressed that “while we are not above mistakes because we are humans, we believe that we have not, as a government, done anything deliberately to trample on the rule of law or the hallowed principles of constitutional governance.”
